Dionte Berry
Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]
Although the feminist movement fights toward equality across all genders, the movement often forgets about some women, like those of color.
In her book “Hood Feminism,” Diversity Consultant and feminist Mikki Kendall focuses on the additional struggles women of color face that feminism fails to address and the overall lack of intersectionality in the movement.
Intersectionality refers to those who have more than one social identity that can be root for discrimination. Thus, women of color have intersectional identities, being both women and people of color.
Kendall refers to the experiences of Black women as a space of intersectionality that is a blindspot in the feminist movement, which has histortically been led by white women.
Kendall explains the shortcomings of feminism through sharing personal and cultural anecdotes about the obstacles she has faced, as well obstacles that Black women, as a whole.
Kendall offers a glimpse into the livelihood of Black women that only a Black woman would know, telling stories that speak to experiences people outside of this demographic do not face but play a major role in Black women’s lives.
Reading “Hood Feminism” was refreshing and eye-opening. I was reading about topics such as workplace discrimination based on hair, the lack of sympathy toward Black women and the violence they face which I have observed in society but Kendall was able to thoroughly explain them in an understandable way.
The book acts partly as a memoir, but with every personal story, Kendall broadens the topic and explains the societal implications.
The book has 18 brief chapters ranging mostly around 20 pages. The chapters address a wide range of topics, such as workplace disrimination, Black motherhood, poverty, gun violence, fetishization and much more.
My favorite chapter is “Of #FastTailedGirls and Freedom” which highlights the sexualization Black girls face.
In this chapter, Kendall discusses how the physical maturation of Black girls evolves into a policing of their bodies by those around them, such as parents and family, to protect them from being perceived as jezebels.
Being told not to be a “fast tailed girl,” or “fast” for short, is seen as a type of protection, but it is also a product of how Black victimhood is perceived. Black girls are perceived as more precocious and less innocent; therefore, if they are a victim of harassment or assault they receive less sympathy from the public.
Families find it easier to police their daughters rather than work toward changing how the world perceives them in order to allow them to do what is natural at their age.
Kendall describes how her grandmother told her not to be fast and learned that at the age of 12, that her adolescent body was enough for her to be seen as fast in the eyes of some people.
Before reading this section I was already familiar with the term “fast” and its prevalence in the Black community, but I didn’t know the implications it had. After reading some of the chapters, I would talk to my friends who are Black women about the book and together we would have eye-opening moments.
Along with sexualizations of Black girls, Kendall writes about the idea of the “strong black woman” and how it acts as a veil to disguise the unfairness black women face.
Although it seems like a compliment and can be, the phrase is used to avoid actually addressing the societally incongruent struggles black women face. Instead of addressing the workplace discrimination a black women has to work through, it is easier to just compliment her strength.
Another stand out chapter is “Gun Violence.” Kendall discusses the lack of perceived victimhood given to Black women when it comes to gun violence. Instead, Black women are seen as protectors or witnesses to the gun violence Black men face.
Kendall further addresses that feminism tends to ignore gun violence which is an issue that incongruently affects Black woman in low income communities.
Kendall brings serious and unacknowledged topics to the table in “Hood Feminism,” and it’s concisely written. I give “Hood Feminism” a nine out of 10.
“Hood Feminism” is for everyone and has a conversational tone that feels as though a friend is telling you a story. Kendall relays this deep and societal-defining information with its sociological and philosophical implications in such a personal format that it is refreshing.
Most literary material with such deep societal implications tends to be presented in rigid research formats that often rely on abstractions, but instead of abstractions, Kendall shares stories of her own life..
